From Two Leaves to Rising Sun: OPS’ ultimate test in his stronghold

OPS faces an uphill task: convincing the electorate to vote for him on the DMK’s Rising Son symbol, not the AIADMK’s iconic Two Leaves symbol.

O Panneerselvam is a familiar face in Bodinayyakannur, a picturesque constituency nestled in the Western Ghats, where he scored a hat-trick victory since the 2011 assembly elections. But in this April 23 election, the former three-time Chief Minister, who co-headed the AIADMK for five years, faces an uphill task: convincing the electorate to vote for him on the DMK’s Rising Son symbol, not the AIADMK’s iconic Two Leaves symbol.

He switched loyalties to the DMK after his pleas to rejoin the AIADMK failed spectacularly as his former colleague, Edappadi K Palaniswami, stood firm that he wouldn't forgive "traitors."

Tamil Nadu is no stranger to party-hopping, but this is probably the first time in the state’s political history that a former Chief Minister is contesting an election on the ticket of a party that he opposed inside and outside the Assembly for several decades.

Bodinayyakannur has been a traditional stronghold of the AIADMK with the late J Jayalalithaa romping home from this seat in her debut election in 1989. During that election, OPS, then an ordinary cadre, had sided with the faction headed by MGR’s wife, V N Janaki.

OPS is pitted against AIADMK’s V T Narayanasamy, who was pushed to the third slot in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls by AMMK’s T T V Dhinakaran of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Despite being a three-time CM, OPS doesn’t enjoy much personal clout and derived his power from the AIADMK’s strength. People in the constituency accusing him of not infusing enough development in the backward district.

They also say his indecisiveness cost him as he failed to cultivate a support base for him after Jayalalithaa’s death in 2016 and kept losing his aides to Palaniswami, who consolidated his hold within the AIADMK.

People point to his winning by “not-so-good” margin of 11,021 votes to his bete noire, Thanga Tamilselvan, who quit the AIADMK and joined the DMK, from the same seat in the 2021 elections.

Caste equations are also not rosy for OPS with Piramalai Kallars, a sub-sect of Thevars, likely to come back to the AIADMK’s fold this time and Naidus also supporting the party overwhelmingly with Narayanasamy belonging to the community.

AMMK’s presence in the AIADMK-led NDA will also help Narayanasamy, while OPS is banking on the DMK’s support base and about 20,000-odd Maravar votes. The constituency has a mix of Thevars, Nadars, Dalits, Pillai, and Chettiars.

OPS may have changed loyalties, but not ordinary AIADMK cadres who voted for him since 2011. Sample this. OPS visited the home of 34-year-old Dinesh in Sadayalpatti village to wish him after his marriage but the young AIADMK voter won’t vote for him. “The loyalty is to the AIADMK and Two Leaves symbol, not to any individual. I will vote only for Narayanasamy, not OPS,” Dinesh told DH outside a tea shop in Bodinayyakannur.

42-year-old Raghuvaran is explicit. “My grandfather told my father to vote for AIADMK and my father obeyed. My father asked me to do the same and I will vote only for the AIADMK. I like OPS as an individual but since he is now a DMK nominee, why should I vote for him?” he asked.

However, the DMK’s support base in the region and hectic campaigning might help OPS win this constituency once again. “To say OPS did nothing is wrong. He didn’t do enough, that’s all. But he is a simple man. I will vote for him,” Arumugam told DH. “He didn’t join the DMK immediately after he was expelled from the AIADMK. He waited for three years but EPS wasn’t willing to take him back,” he added.

DMK cadres say they will support OPS unconditionally as he is the party candidate and old rivalries won’t come in the way of his winning from here.

54-year-old Thirukkumaran struck a different line. “I have always voted for the AIADMK but this time, I might vote for Vijay. Let there be a change,” he said.